Consequences

There are two events in the days leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection that I want to highlight from Pastor Ken’s message last Sunday. One involves Jesus entering the Temple in Jerusalem and becoming deeply angered by the commercial activity taking place in what was meant to be a house of worship. As Matthew 21:12 describes, “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.”

The second event centers around the fig tree. According to the timeline, it appears that on the same day Jesus went to cleanse the Temple, He saw a fig tree along the way. Approaching it and finding no fruit, He cursed. The next day, as Jesus and the disciples were once again heading to the Temple, they passed the same fig tree—now completely withered from the roots up. Naturally, a tree wouldn’t die that quickly, which clearly points to a divine act.

I truly believe this scene reveals the spiritual condition of the Jewish leadership during Jesus’ time. He was already deeply grieved by their corruption, and by the time He arrived at the Temple, He was furious. The historian Josephus paints a vivid picture of just how far things had deteriorated. As Ken pointed out, the money changers were running a scam—when people exchanged their Roman currency for Temple coins, the exchange rates were outrageously unfair. But that was just the beginning. Worshipers could bring their own animals for sacrifice, but the system was rigged. Temple inspectors would always “find” a flaw in the animals brought from outside, forcing people to sell them and then buy “approved” animals from the official Temple vendors at inflated prices. And to top it off, the High Priest would take a cut from the whole operation.

In my view, the fig tree symbolized the entire corrupt religious system of the time, and Jesus’ curse upon it was a direct judgment on that system. Like the fig tree, they had no fruit.  Even worse, they were completely rotten! Imagine His righteous anger as He witnessed what had become of His Father’s instructions—what was meant, as Deuteronomy 6 teaches, to guide His people into a life of blessing, longevity, and prosperity. Instead, it had been twisted into something dirty and exploitative a means for corrupt individuals to gain wealth and power at the expense of sincere worshipers.

Yes, our God is love—but there are consequences for rebellion and injustice. The curse of the fig tree wasn’t just about a tree; it was a prophetic sign of what was to come. In 70 AD, the Temple—the very heart of that broken system—was destroyed by the Romans. The scamming of faithful people ended. No more deceitful priests rejecting honest sacrifices under false pretenses. No more lies. No more corruption.

Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, offered Himself as the final and perfect sacrifice. And because of that, we now have hope—hope in a future where He will return, not just as Savior, but as King, to rule the world with justice and righteousness.